Archive for May, 2010

Making the Most of Your Tire Power Software – Column Sorting in ‘View Today’s Activities’

Wednesday, May 12th, 2010

The ‘View Today’s Activities’ window is the primary method of managing your day-to-day customer transactions.  It gives you easy access to all Quotes, open Work Orders, current Website Orders, today’s Invoices, and today’s Payments.  This window is the most used window in the software, so because of that fact, we are constantly trying to make the window better and more efficient.  A new bonus feature on this window is the ability to now sort by the column header.  For example, during a busy day, you may have many open work orders pile up under the ‘Work Orders’ tab.  When the list grows too long, this makes finding a specific customer’s open work order difficult.  Now, simply double-click on the column header ‘Customer’ to sort by the customer’s name.  Your customers are now sorted by name, so this makes finding the customer’s name a snap.  Give this tip a try the next time you need to find a customer’s transaction quickly, so you too can make the most of your Tire Power software.  Stay tuned for more tips.

Tire_Power Software_Front_Counter

Tire Estimator

Thursday, May 6th, 2010

One of the many powerful tools inside of Tire Power software’s point-of-sale is the “Tire Estimator” tool.  This feature allows you to quickly and easily give a customer who is either on the phone or in front of you a “4 and out the door” price on tires.  From here you can create a quote, work order or invoice in one simple step by using one of the buttons at the bottom left of the window. Depending on what type of business you are (retail vs. wholesale for example) there are different ways you will want to setup the “Tire Estimator” to work for you. There are several options to consider when setting this tool up. For example the default price class, tax group and package which will be used.

Tire_Estimator
For the wholesale tire locations who don’t normally install tires, they can simply use a blank package and a wholesale specific tax group which includes any delivery fees or fuel surcharges, but eliminates the state and local taxes. For the retail tire and automotive service shop, you can have custom packages built for each unique scenario your salespeople may come across. For example, you could have a package with a road hazard plan built in, and one without. This way you could easily tell a customer the “out the door” difference in the two options. “Tire Estimator” is just another one of the tools built into Tire Power with the flexibility to conform to your business rather than forcing you to completely change your business to utilize the tool.

First Impressions Are Lasting Impressions (Volume II)

Tuesday, May 4th, 2010

SIGNS
An essential element of a business’ overall image should be proper and well-executed use of signs.  As you well know, signs come in a multitude of sizes, shapes, and forms.  They can also be designed to serve multiple purposes, ranging from identification, to promotions.

The most prominent sign would be displayed at the place of business.  This allows for immediate recognition.  Additionally, most businesses post signs in their windows, whether in poster format, or painted directly on the glass.  Signs can also be displayed on vehicles, such as magnetics or wraps.  For promotional purposes, it’s not uncommon to see other types of displays, such as portable a-frames, banners, balloons, and inflatables.  Alternatively, businesses may use a hand-held sign to attract the attention of passing motorists; we’ve all seen someone standing on a corner holding/waving a sign.  At times, they may even be dressed as a caricature of the particular business.

In summation, it would be wise to evaluate the use of signs to enhance your business.  Considering all available options is a sure sign of a dynamic, forward-looking enterprise.

To be continued…